After you've verified the quality of the rope and equipment - all of it perfectly up to standards, if not better, a credit to the efficiency of the imperial administration - and ensured that the kobold, who calls himself Soth, has understood his instructions and is proficient with the necessary techniques, you let him prepare for the climb.

Soth, like the other kobolds, was wearing typical Moolyager clothing, if adapted for their size, but as he gets ready to set out across the river, he takes off the woollens, revealing a scaled tunic beneath. While the kobold's own red skin is composed of tiny, smooth interlocking scales, the ones on his tunic have the shape and colour of small overlapping teeth. With the help of other kobolds, he proceeds to bind this tunic tightly about his body with a number of leather belts.

Completing his preparations by strapping a short shovel to his back and tying the rope to one of his belts, your volunteer waits for the go ahead to start the crossing, and it immediately becomes apparent that he wasn't exaggerating his abilities. Hanging upside down, he clutches at the rope with hands and feet both, climbing his way across the gorge with effortless movements, long sinuous tail darting out behind him to balance out his advance. In only a few minutes, Soth has reached the other side of the river and started work on securing the rope.